My goodness gracious, somebody needed to pinch me, I could not believe that we were actually aboard the beautiful Regal Princess, and let me tell y’all, she surely is a gorgeous girl; I will be doing a collage picture tour of the Regal at the end of this Series so that you can see as many venues as we could find to photograph.

Onward we go with our adventure, last we left off, Chris and I were entering our Stateroom, so let me show you a few things that were waiting for us upon our arrival.  Here is a sneak peek of our Stateroom, Mini Suite A214:

Of course the Princess Patter (sort of like a calendar for that day’s events–you get one in your little mailbox for each day of your cruise) was waiting for us.

And I had ordered a “Soda & More” package online before the trip, the cup in the picture below was a gift from Princess and the sticker on my room card shows whoever I ask for a soda or more that I do not have to pay (onboard).  BTW, a Soda & More package costs $8.05 a day and look at all that you can get to drink with it…

***Indulge yourself with this premium Unlimited Soda & More Package, entitling you to unlimited fountain soft drinks, plus mocktails, juices, and complimentary hot chocolate throughout your cruise. Price includes service charge***

We also found this waiting for us…This was a new thing for us because this was the first cruise that we were at the Captain’s Circle “Platinum” Level.  Believe it or not, we never went and indulged in those spiffy treats–We were so busy, we just didn’t think to go…haha.  But, this is a nice little perk. 🙂

Also, Chris ordered a Coffee Card online before the cruise and waiting in the Stateroom was a white card (just like the one that I got with my cup up there ^^^).  The card instructed him to take it to the International Cafe and once turned in, he was given his Coffee Card.  He used that entire card, one punch per cup of specialty coffee and then he purchased another one later at the IC. 🙂 Note:  With the Coffee Card, you do get get unlimited brewed coffee (no punches utilized) which is a bit better than what they serve in the Horizon Court for free.  What can I say, Chris likes his coffee. 🙂

All right, now that we’ve seen all of the goodies that were awaiting us on our arrival into our room, here is a video tour that I created and narrated of our Mini Suite A214. 🙂

My goodness, that was such a nice room.  I will admit that I didn’t care for the pillows and I ended up asking for others which truthfully, weren’t too much better…haha.  I’m going to have to figure out how to take my nice, soft, fluffy, feather pillow on our next cruise. 😉

NOTE:  I need to make a couple of corrections from what I mentioned in my video.  I’ve been told that that couch does not pull out into a queen-sized bed, instead, the cushions come off and a mattress lifts up and covers the couch length-wise making it into a single bed; I didn’t pull it out when we were there…my apologies for the faux pas in the video. OH and one other thing, only one Princess tote bag is given per **Stateroom**, not per *Passenger*.

Next, we did a little bit of exploring around the ship–Here are just a smattering of pictures that I clicked off while we were zipping around:

All righty, it was time for my most favorite part of the cruise…The Muster Drill! 😉

I’m just kidding, it is certainly *not* my favorite part of the cruise, but, it is a necessary evil that comes with cruising, and I’m grateful to Princess that they do all of their Muster Drills indoors and this time around, our drill was held in the Princess Theater…And OH my gracious, take a look at the Regal’s beautiful Princess Theater:

 Here is a little video of our time at our drill. 🙂

Now that *that* loveliness was completed, we sure felt safe and we sure felt HUNGRY…So off we skipped to the buffet for a light meal.  I could NOT believe my eyes when we walked into the Horizon Court & Bistro–yep, they have a “Bistro” on the Regal too.  It was massive, there was SO much food to choose from and there was plenty of seating available.  Every single thing that we had at the Buffet throughout the entire week was scrumptious…no honesty, it was really, really good.  So good in fact that we didn’t step foot in a Dining Room (admittedly we usually don’t) or a Specialty Restaurant (that we always do on every cruise).  The only places we dined other than the buffet was The Crab Shack one evening and Alfredo’s–the pizza place in the Piazza–I’ll highlight both in a future post.  I was amazed at the variety of food available in the buffet, the presentations were spot on, and well, pfft, there was no need to go anywhere else. 🙂

The difference in the Bistro and Court? Easiest way to tell you about that is to copy and paste Princess’ explanation…Here we go:

“Horizon Court – Buffet and Bistro

Horizon Court Buffet – One of Princess’ most popular casual dining options, the Horizon Court buffet on Regal Princess provides additional dining options, including action station choices such as Asian cuisine, Mediterranean dishes, a pasta corner and salad-tossing stations. For early risers on the go, new “Grab & Go” options are available, while healthy breakfast options offer the fuel guests need to make the most of a day at sea or ashore. Those who love to sleep in will even find a special “late, late risers” breakfast corner. At lunch, a variety of new live stations feature a regional flair, including a rotisserie, and Japanese Hibachi Grill.

Horizon Bistro – Dinner in the Horizon Court will offer an interactive experience with themed events and specialty dinners. On certain nights guests may find a Brazilian churrascaria, Argentine gaucho theme, German Beer Fest, a European bistro or British pub. Actions stations found here include a hibachi grill, rotisseries and carving stations, a taqueria, and a sandwich bar.”

Here are just a few pictures that I clicked off on that first day, I have plenty more that I will highlight in that collage post at the end of this Series…

After we were finished eating, we did a tiny bit more of exploring, it was almost time for sail-away, but, there was one thing that I wanted to check out first…

The Sea Walk!

And being the goober that I am, I had to take a walk right on across…;)

It was now time for Sail-Away–They moved the sail-away “party” into the Piazza because of the weather, but, Chris and I along with tons of other people stayed outside on deck as we sailed out of Brooklyn.  Yes, we were a bit damp as it was misting, but, that didn’t dampen my mood at all, I was one happy camper to be starting this new and fun adventure.  Here are a few pictures of our time on deck and then a video of our sail-away. 🙂

Manhatten:

Governor’s Island:

The Statue of Liberty:

And a little video–I recorded the first part of the video where I’m talking right after we boarded, and then I switch on over to our sail-away. 🙂  Listen for The Love Boat themed horn at the end of the video. 😉 🙂  SO cool!!!

And we were on our way!! I know I am a menopausal woman in her mid-50’s, but, I was so touched at that sail-away that I actually did shed a tear or two.  I feel so lucky that we are able to go on these adventures.  Okay, enough sappiness from me!

Next up, our first port of call, Newport, Rhode Island–To say that we had some rough seas…well…Stay tuned!

A sneak peek & link:  Canada & New England: Newport, Rhode Island

Until next time, y’all take good care! ❤

***If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me…Psalm 139***

~Arlynn ❤